No one can claim not to have weakness. From the mightiest of men and women to the meekest, having vulnerabilities comes with the territory of being human. Yet, having a weakness is not the most serious problem for most people. Ignoring weakness, discounting vulnerability, and behaving like one is invincible is a more serous problem. It can be fatal. (Johnson and Ridley, Kindle location 520).

Consider Superman and Achilles of Troy.

Superman. He is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! He epitomizes what some might call a great leader. Perhaps his greatest secret power is self-awareness. He leverages his strengths and knows his one weakness is kryptonite. To lead well, leaders must know themselves.

On the other hand (or foot), consider Achilles. He was the central character in Homer’s Illiad and the the greatest hero of the Trojan War. In Greek mythology, it was foretold that Achilles would die an early death. To spare him from this fate, his mother Thetis took her baby to the River Styx which had the power to make him invulnerable. Thetis held Achilles by the heel as she dipped him in the river, unknowingly leaving that part of his body not washed by the magical waters. He lead and conquered in many battles, but in one war, he died shortly after being struck in the heel by a poisonous arrow. Wikipedia defines an Achilles heel as a “deadly weakness in spite of overall strength, which can actually or potentially lead to downfall.” Lack of self-awareness led to Achilles’ death.

Both Superman and Achilles had great strengths; they both had weaknesses. Superman was aware of his weakness, but Achilles was not, and that made the difference!

StrengthsFinderAssessment will give you your top five talents along with ways to understand and develop those talents into strengths. You can see the list of the 34 talents here.

Reflected Best Self exercise gives you feedback on what you contributed when people have seen you at your best! This is a very encouraging exercise I did during my M.A. Read a short summary of Reflected Best Self.

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About Steve Morgan

I work in Global Leadership Development with Cru with my wife, Terry. We have been married 34 years and have 4 grown children.
I have a Masters in Global Leadership together through Azusa Pacific University.
I generally write about 5 “L’s: Living Well, Loving Deeply, Learning Continuously, Leading Courageously and Leaving a Legacy. I occasionally write about Laughing Loudly.
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